Serendipity
by cynicismandrainbows
Summary: The first meeting. Padelia ficlet.


Before Delia was _Deels_ , she was a whisper that circulated among certain sets of the newly-recruited student nurses at the London.

"Just wait til she opens her mouth- she sounds like our old gardener!"

"Goodness knows why she came all this way- don't they have hospitals in Wales?"

"It's very queer- she's nice enough, but it does make her stick out rather, doesn't it?"

"Are they going to say anything, do you think- they had elocution lessons for the scholarship girls at Roedean, I wonder if…."

And, every so often: "She's not a bad sort, though. Frightful accent but funny all the same..."

Patsy, despite being in possession of exactly the sort of recieved pronounciation that would have asserted her firmly as _one of them_ (long years at boarding school had thoroughly scrubbed out her tendency to lapse into the slang terms she had picked up in the camp), did not join in these discussions.

She could only imagine what they were saying about her, after all….

"She seems so don't-care but would you believe it, she won't even change her dress in the bedroom unless she's alone. Goodness knows why- you'd never think her to be such a prude after what she said to Bea on the first day!"

"You would've thought she was being murdered at the very least- the most dreadful scream you've ever heard in your life! If it hadn't been the middle of the night, I would've gone straight to Sister and asked to be given a new room! I mean nightmares are one thing but she woke up nearly everybody in the corridor!"

"She sounds like anybody but have you seen her text books? Forget second-hand, fifth hand is more like it! Honestly, why come all the way here if you can't afford to pay?"

"She's chatty enough when it suits her but she can be so frightfully prickly too- shuts up like a clam if you ask her anything about herself"

Whether anyone added that Patsy, like the other spoken-about girl, was _quite good fun really, a decent sort even_ she had no idea.

Before Patsy was _Pats_ , she was a tall figure (lacking height herself, Delia found herself acutely aware of it in others) with wisps of red hair escaping from hairpins that Delia would sometimes catch a glimpse of in halls, in lecture theatres, in hospital corridors.

"Delia, do stop staring"

"Am I? I hadn't noticed"

"Do you recognise that girl from somewhere?"

"She always seems to be by herself- have you noticed that?"

"So? It's not surprising, she's frightfully prickly from what I hear"

 _I wonder how you'll describe about me, when you recount this conversation later…._

"Oh"

"Oh for goodness sake, Delia, there's no need to be so sentimental over it! She's hardly been shunned- see, she's got people to sit with, hasn't she?"

"I suppose so…"

And she was, Delia noticed, at that very moment standing with a group of girls- not right in the center, certainly, but definitely part of the group.

 _Something in how she stands….or how she looks at everyone_ , Delia thought, _the way she looks like she's alone even when she isn't. Or the way she wishes that she was alone…._

"... from Kent. Daddy had lived in London his whole life until Mummy made him relocate! Of course I love home...but it would have been much more convenient to me getting home if they'd chosen to stay in Kensington! What about you, Patsy? Have you come far?"

Delia had been only half listening but she looked up at the sudden break in conversation as everyone waited for a reply- to her surprise, it was the tall girl she'd been seeing everywhere, whose cheeks were rapidly becoming as red as her hair as she struggled for an answer.

Smiles were fading, and the quiet was well on it's way to becoming an _awkward silence_ when she finally replied "Not very. I- I was at school just outside London, before this."

"Yes, but home, I meant, not school" Felicity fluttered a hand impatiently "Are you going far when you go home for Christmas?"

"I'll probably be spending Christmas here"

"In London?"

"In the hospital."

The impatient sigh Patsy received in reply made Delia twitch in irritation.

 _Not a very interesting answer but goodness! Obviously the poor girl doesn't want to talk about it, move on to someone else, you spiteful cat._

"Matron mentioned that they can do with extra pairs of hands because everyone is in such a hurry to go home"

"Everyone except _you,_ you mean" The flashing smile was as acidic as the tone "Aren't we selfish things lucky to have someone like you to pick up the slack!"

"That's lucky- I'm glad I can be sure of at least some company!" Delia broke in, and smiled warmly at Patsy, who was looking as if she was trying to disappear. "Pembroke is so far-" she pretended not to hear the not-so-quiet mutter that it was a good thing Delia had _reminded_ them she was from Wales because goodness, they might _forget_ otherwise "-and ticket prices what they are…. I told Mam she'll have to prop my latest letter up at my place for Christmas dinner, and just _imagine_ I'm arguing with my cousins over the wishbone and who gets to light the Christmas pudding, while I sit hunched up over my textbooks and study my poor fingers to the bone…."

Under the ripple of laughter and chatter that followed, Patsy raised her eyes enough to send a grateful glance across the table to Delia, who smiled widely back- but Patsy had already moved her eyes back to her cup.

A week passed.

Delia was picking at her breakfast, trying to look like she didn't care that she was eating alone again, and wondering exactly how long it would be before the effects of acute starvation on hospital food would become apparent, when Patsy appeared next to her as if by magic.

"I just wanted to say thank you"

Delia nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Oh! Hello….Say thank you for what?"

She had hoped that becoming a nurse would teach her to enjoy waking early (or at least have all her wits about her during the early hours) but so far, it hadn't happened yet.

"For last week. When you- You know."

"Oh…."

Yes, Delia decided, she was certainly not at her best in the morning.

"It's not that I….. I just don't like…. I…. Thank you."

"It's alright. Truth be told, I was rather glad you did give me a chance to change the subject, it was so dull. I mean, we've already established that nearly everyone here might as well be from the same town, they all sound so alike. Why on earth we must spend what little we have of our free time rehashing which -shire everyone is from I'm sure I don't know!"

Patsy allowed herself to laugh and relaxed, relieved that unlike nearly everyone else she had spoken to, this girl didn't seem desperate to pepper her with questions about where she was from and who she was and what her parents did and how many siblings she had.

"Then let's just say I did it as a personal favour to you, shall we? Although that may be rather presumptuous when I don't even know your name… Tracking you down to thank you was a nightmare, I had to keep asking for the small, dark haired nurse from Wales because I couldn't even make an intelligent guess as to what it was…"

"You're lucky you could add the Wales bit, or it would've taken you until we graduated to find me!"

"I suppose I am. Although I would much rather be able to ask for you by name next time, I don't want to have to do a repeat performance for the entertainment of the wards next time I need you"

"It's Delia. Delia Busby. Third floor. And you are?"

"Patience Mount. Patsy. Fourth. I say, is that the bell? Goodness, I thought we had ages left!"

"Unfortunately… did you get anything to eat? You can have the rest of my toast if you like- you've got time to eat it if you hurry-"

"I couldn't- That is, don't you mind?"

"Oh, go on! We can't have you collapsing half way through the lecture… Imagine what Sister Francis would say!"

"Probably whisk me away to be used as a cadaver if she had half a chance…"

Delia giggled. "I wouldn't put it past her… actually, we really do need to hurry, I don't fancy being the last in again. Come on, we can walk over together!"

If Patsy hadn't had a mouthful of illicit toast, she would have replied immediately- the look of uncertainty that flashed across Delia's face in the short pause that followed her offer of company made her feel she'd rather have gone hungry.

"I mean...Only if you don't mind, of course. I don't want you to feel I'm bullying you into being friends with me."

Patsy swallowed her mouthful and wondered why toast suddenly took so long to chew.

"No! I mean, I don't feel at all bullied by you. Not that I don't want to be friends with you at all. Although-"

The words flew out before she could think about it "I'm not sure you'd make an entirely effective bully, you're not nearly tall or threatening enough."

Delia paused…. burst out laughing and Patsy felt relieved- seeing Delia become so suddenly shy- almost apologetic- about her overtures of friendliness made her wonder why the girl would imagine her company would be anything other than welcome?

As if reading her mind, Delia looked up. "You may be right- I don't think I've succeeded into press-ganging too many of the other probationers into becoming my bosom friends, actually."

 _Why ever not?_

"But you're-" _Lovely_ , she just about managed to stop herself saying. "Well, that makes two of us!" she said aloud instead, and was rewarded by Delia's answering smile.

Movement around them, as girls exclaimed at the time and began to make for the door, interrupted her train of thought; they stood up and joined the throng heading for the lecture theatre.

Patsy initially wondered why she felt so pleased when they ended up sitting next to one another- it was so utterly school girlish, like being thrilled you'd managed to bag a desk with your best friend on the first day of term, and not at all something a nurse should be thinking about when there was a lecture going on.

(But all the same, she admitted to herself later….she _was_ pleased...)


End file.
